Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could convince the world to love jumpsuits as much as he does. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.

This is not a Joe Mauer cheap shot. Repeat: not a Joe Mauer cheap shot.

We’re merely passing along information that we thought was interesting. And yes, we will do so while freely admitting that fantasy baseball is not real baseball. They are, in the literal senses of the word, opposites.

But we happened to be browsing ESPN’s fantasy baseball ratings — why, we’re not sure, since we don’t have the patience for fantasy baseball and haven’t stuck with a league in 25 years — and were struck by the ratings of the MLB first basemen.

Of the 30 ranked by ESPN (Insider required), Mauer was dead last at No. 30. And he was the only one not ranked in the overall top 250.

Do with that information what you will. Aw, come on. Don’t rip on Mauer in the comments. It’s too easy (and besides, we do think he’ll have a bounceback year).

Those who like to read between the lines can find some very interesting fodder from a Twin Cities soccer event that took place Monday.

Last night, members of the Dark Clouds — a die-hard fan supporter group for the local Minnesota United soccer club — held their “Supporters Summit” at the new Surly complex in Minneapolis. Interestingly, both the owner of United (Dr. Bill McGuire) and the team president (Nick Rogers) were also in attendance. And most interesting of all is what McGuire and Rogers were wearing as well as what McGuire reportedly said.

The backdrop for this, in case you did not know, is that United and the Vikings have been vying for an MLS franchise in Minnesota. The Vikings would have the team play in their new stadium; the United group would build a new soccer-specific stadium. Minneapolis is considered a frontrunner, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber spoke very highly recently of United.

But United folks have been very quiet about their pursuit of a franchise, so a report from last night’s event is quite interesting.

Dr. Bill McGuire and team president Nick Rogers were each wearing two scarves that night – one for their team Minnesota United, and a second scarf from last year’s MLS Cup. At the end of the evening Dr. McGuire addressed the room full of Dark Clouds by sharing his vision for soccer in Minnesota:

“What we’re trying to do, and as you know we are pretty quiet about this, is fairly straightforward. We’re trying to do something that will bring soccer to the community at an increasingly higher professional level and make your bus trips from the Nomad (a soccer bar located just East of Downtown Minneapolis) shorter.”

It’s a bit cryptic, to be sure, and it’s not a victory speech indicating United — which currently plays in the second-tier North American Soccer League — has won the right to have the franchise. But even if McGuire didn’t specifically say MLS, he’s clearly alluding to the league, while the reference to a shorter bus trip is a clear reference to a new stadium in Minneapolis as opposed to United’s current home in suburban Blaine.

Saying even that much could be an indication that we are getting closer to an announcement that MLS is, indeed, coming to Minneapolis and that the United group will be the one bringing in the team. That would be consistent with rumblings we’ve heard in recent weeks.

Did Dr. Bill Mcguire just say “We believe we’ve saved you from watching soccer on football plastic.” ?!?!? pic.twitter.com/lev8sAoRtC

The philosopher, of course, is former Gophers football coach Tim Brewster. And like any good philosophy, the phrase can be applied to many facets of life.

We will apply it here to the Minnesota Wild and GM Chuck Fletcher, who for the third consecutive year have made the decision late in the season to given up pieces of the future to acquire what they hope is a better present day.

The question, then, is simple: Fletcher wants to get some players; did he bring too much to other teams, sacrificing a chunk of the Wild’s future in the process?

Much of how we answer that question depends on what you think of the Wild and how it is currently constructed. We know Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Jason Pominville will be here for a very long time. But we also know that a lot of their young players will reach payday age in the coming years, and the Wild presumably won’t be able to keep all of them. Rather, they will need to replenish the roster with more young talent.

That said, you can’t always worry about three or four years from now. The Wild is playing in a manner that suggests it could do some damage in this year’s playoffs. To get better, Minnesota again has had to give up players. You are not, after all, going to slay a bear with a pellet gun.

Big-picture, though, it feels as though Fletcher has given up an awful lot the past three years leading up to the trading deadline. Some of the moves listed below came a little earlier than the deadline, but all were in the middle of seasons. The principal players and picks are listed:

If the fourth-rounder the Wild got back in the Pominville deal cancels out the fourth-rounder it traded for Bryz, the sum total the past three years one first-round pick, four second-round picks, two third-round picks and a fifth-round pick between 2013 and 2017 traded away. They have received two seventh-rounders and a sixth-rounder.

If we consider “premium” picks to be those in the first three rounds, the Wild has traded seven of those mid-season in the past three years.

This is not to say the trades have been bad, at least short-term. Dubnyk has been wonderful. Minnesota probably doesn’t make the playoffs without Bryzgalov last year. Pominville is a very good forward. And the deadline moves Monday could very well help fuel playoff victories. Overall, one would say Fletcher’s trade ledger looks pretty good, with a method to the madness.

But it is fair to wonder if the Wild will face a talent deficit in the long run even if it has a surplus in the short-term. That’s a price Minnesota appears willing to pay, putting even more pressure on this year’s team.

Some of the most obscenely wealthy people in the world are also owners of major U.S. pro sports franchises.

And for the first time, you can add Michael Jordan to that list of the obscenely wealthy, at least if your definition of reaching that threshold is being a billionaire.

(As a thousandaire, we might cut it off differently, but still).

Jordan is — according to Forbes — a billionaire, earning that designation for the first time. He’s also the owner of the Charlotte Hornets (yes, they’re the Hornets again after being the stupid Bobcats for a while).

Not on the billionaire list, by the way: Craig Leipold, Zygi Wilf or any Pohlad, though Wolves owner (and Star Tribune owner) Glen Taylor is on there at $2.4 billion.

Per ESPN.com, there is speculation that Jordan makes $100 million a year in royalties from Nike, so that would explain a lot of his massive wealth.